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WHO H1N1 response probe's second meeting highlights divergent views

The independent team of health experts responsible for reviewing the WHO's response to H1N1 (swine flu) wrapped up a second round of public hearings on Friday, "during which members heard testimony from widely divergent groups, from health officials to some of its most public critics," CIDRAP News reports.

7 Jul 2010

Consumer groups: Force insurers to provide more details justifying price increases

Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby reports on the continuing evolution of the new health overhaul's implementation rules: "Consumer advocates this week pushed for tough rules on how much information insurers must provide to justify premium increases, a step required by the new health overhaul law" (Appleby, 7/6).

7 Jul 2010

VA addresses health concerns including possible HIV exposure and Veterans' general poor health

"The Democratic chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee lambasted the Obama administration over its handling of an incident at a St. Louis VA center in which more than 1,800 veterans were told they may have been exposed to HIV. ... The Department of Veterans Affairs last month sent a letter to 1,812 patients informing them that could have been exposed to HIV and other deadly viruses because of dental equipment that was insufficiently sterilized over a period of 13 months."

7 Jul 2010

Phase Ia clinical trial of SYL040012 for treating elevated intraocular pressure, glaucoma completed

Sylentis, a biopharmaceutical subsidiary of Grupo Zeltia and a pioneer in the research and development of new drugs based on gene silencing (interference RNA, RNAi), has completed Phase Ia of its first clinical trial with SYL040012 in the form of ophthalmic drops to treat elevated intraocular pressure and glaucoma.

7 Jul 2010

Dell hedging on health IT investment; Privacy concerns remain

The Wall Street Journal: Dell is hoping to capitalize on its purchase of health technology firm Perot Systems by providing services to new clients such as the 2,600-doctor Methodist Hospital System in Houston. Dell has contracted to create an electronic medical records system for Methodist, a new foray into IT services for the hardware-focused firm.

7 Jul 2010

Some patients pay more at Madison clinic to subsidize others

At the Our Lady of Hope Clinic in Madison, Wis., some patients — about half — pay a premium for boutique -- or concierge -- services, which pays for care for the other half -- those without insurance at all. "Now one year old, the clinic started off slowly but is gaining momentum and seems to be a viable business model, clinic officials said. The clinic has 110 paying patients, called benefactors, and serves about two dozen uninsured people weekly."

7 Jul 2010

Hologic enters definitive agreement to acquire Sentinelle Medical

Hologic, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sentinelle Medical Inc., a leading provider of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) breast coils, tables and visualization software.

From Hologic, Inc. 7 Jul 2010

Scientists discover nanoparticle to deliver DNA with minimum toxic effect

In lab experiments, the researchers have found that this device, a vector, is able to deliver DNA deeply enough into a cell to allow genetic material to be activated - a critical step in gene therapy. This vector is between 2 - and 10 times more effective than other experimental materials, according to the research.

7 Jul 2010

Biomagnetics Diagnostics signs new CRADA with Los Alamos National Security

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis and malaria detection, today announced the signing of a new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Los Alamos National Security, LLC for the development of a waveguide-based integrated optical biosensor platform for the detection of disease causing pathogens.

7 Jul 2010

Labor pushes in Mass. and Minn.; Nurses struggle with job hunt despite shortage

Massachusetts's largest health care union is going to try to pull workers at Boston's leading medical centers: Massachusetts General, Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess and Tufts hospitals, The Boston Globe reports. The union, led by Veronica Turner since last month, forged a deal in 2009 with Caritas Christi Health Care that gave 3,000 employees raises and bonuses.

7 Jul 2010

International conference focuses on HPV's impact on women

Scientists, clinicians and public health leaders from around the world are gathered in Montreal this week for the 26th International Papillomavirus Conference where they hope to generate awareness about human papillomavirus, Canwest News Service/Gazette reports (Martin/McCallum, 7/4).

7 Jul 2010

PI3 kinase boosts body heat, helps burn excess calories

New findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggest that an enzyme in the brain known as PI3 kinase might control the increased generation of body heat that helps burn off excess calories after eating a high-fat meal.

7 Jul 2010

Medical waste: A rising challenge for health industry

The New York Times: The health care industry generates billions of pounds of garbage each year, and disposing of it all has become a problem. "The problem, fueled by a shift toward the use of disposables that made it simple to keep treatment practices sterile, has been an open secret for years, but getting the health care industry to change its habits has not been easy. No organization currently tracks how much medical trash the United States produces — the last known estimate, from the early 1990s, was two million tons a year."

7 Jul 2010

Scientists demonstrate how neural stem cells, precursor cells control growth of glioblastomas

In their latest research, scientists of the Max Delbr-ck Center for Molecular Medicine Berlin-Buch, Germany, have demonstrated how the brain's own stem cells and precursor cells control the growth of glioblastomas. Of all brain tumors, glioblastomas are among the most common and most aggressive.

7 Jul 2010

Emergency room visits increase in Mass., plus more hospital news

The Boston Globe: In Massachusetts, "[t]he number of people visiting hospital emergency rooms has climbed … despite the enactment of nearly universal health insurance that some hoped would reduce expensive emergency department use. According to state data released last week, emergency room visits rose by 9 percent from 2004 to 2008, to about 3 million visits a year.

7 Jul 2010

Medicare patients battle tight rules while doctors express frustrations about payment issues

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on how high costs and rigorous rules affect Medicare patients and examines the case of Fran Bogom, 86, a widow with mild dementia who broke her arm after falling from a bed.

7 Jul 2010

Battling medical jargon in doctor's office may improve patient health

The Wall Street Journal reports on efforts to make the language used in doctors' offices easier for patients to understand.

7 Jul 2010

POMC neurons suppress appetite, induce weight loss: Research

A protein found in cells throughout the body must be present in a specific set of neurons in the brain to prevent weight gain after chronic feeding on high-calorie meals, new findings from UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggest.

7 Jul 2010

Some state insurance commissioners push back on Fed premium rate reviews

Politico: Some state insurance commissioners are not happy with a proposal that would give the federal government the authority to centralize premium rate reviews of health insurance.

7 Jul 2010

Questions surround Republican leaders' level of support for health reform repeal efforts

The Hill: Some Republican leaders may not be fully embracing a Senate bill aimed at repealing the health reform overhaul despite other GOP endorsements. "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), GOP Conference Chair Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Conference Vice Chair Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have all argued that the reforms — passed in March without Republican support — will hike costs and erode services, and therefore should be scrapped.

7 Jul 2010